Black Ink
by C3L35714
Summary: "When Bellatrix smirked like that, her friends laughed and her enemies trembled." Sirius prided himself on the fact that he counted as one of the best of her friends - her favorite cousin. A snapshot into the lives of Andromeda, Bellatrix, Narcissa, Sirius, and Regulus Black away from their pureblood parents. When Bellatrix and Sirius take the reigns, expect the unexpected.


**A/N: Andromeda is the oldest in this story.** **Ages: Andromeda (17), Bellatrix (14), Sirius (12), Narcissa (11), Regulus (10).**

* * *

~Sirius~

"I," Bellatrix started dramatically, "am completely and 100%, absolutely bored." She flipped her long black hair over her shoulders, fanning herself with her hand. It was also a hot summer's day, which didn't exactly help any. Sirius snorted at Bellatrix's statement and groaned himself, rolling up his sleeves and hating his parents even more for forcing him to dress so formally. Their parents had headed off to do...something - " _it's grown-up things; you wouldn't understand_ ," Aunt Druella had said - for the day, leaving Andromeda in charge of the five Black children. Sirius had blanched at the idea of having a sitter, though, when he heard it was only Andromeda, he'd swallowed his complaints, nodded at his father, gave his mother a kiss on the cheek, and waited until they had left before spitting on the floor of the " _Noble and Most Ancient House of Black_ ," having always hated the scent of his mother's rich perfume.

"None of us isn't bored," Andromeda said with a patience that Sirius knew he'd never achieve, "but you don't hear us complaining." Now, Sirius, his younger brother Regulus, and his cousins Andromeda, Bellatrix, and Narcissa were waiting and waiting and waiting in the living room of his Uncle Cygnus's and Aunt Druella's manor. All outer robes had been shed many hours earlier. Regulus and Narcissa were on the floor, Narcissa with her legs folded neatly underneath her. His sleeves were rolled up and she had dragged her skirts to her knees. Eldest Andromeda was reading a book and relaxing on a chair, hair pinned up and above her neck, while Bellatrix and Sirius lounged out on the sofa and put their feet up on the ottoman, something absolutely not allowed - when their parents were home, anyway.

Out of all his family, Sirius's favorite - if he had to pick - was most definitely Bellatrix; dear cousin Bella. Andromeda was alright, he conceded, but she was a real rule-stickler in maintaining things like maintenance and manners. She wouldn't even let them smoke in the house (Not that he did that on a regular basis, or anything, but still!), and unattended, under-age magic-practice was absolutely forbidden. Regulus, Sirius's younger brother, was a sweet kid, mostly. For on, he never got involved when their father, Orion, yelled at Sirius, and the kid was smart. Though, he seemed to have a connection with Narcissa that Sirius couldn't understand. Narcissa held much more poise at eleven years old than she should, and she was a perfect daughter; a perfect Black child who remembered all of her manners (and everyone else's, too) - Sirius personally thought she was mostly a stuck-up little girl who needed to be brought back down to Earth. He had found that while returning to school meant seeing Bellatrix more often, it would be her second-to-last year and Narcissa's first, neither of which he was pleased about. As if nature was on his side, the lithe blonde shook her head in response to her eldest sister:

"Actually," Narcissa sat up straighter and held her head high, "Sirius was telling us all that he'd rather _roast in the heat than sit here any longer_ a few minutes ago." Sirius grumbled at his cousin and sunk lower into the sofa, finding his distaste for prissy Narcissa rising.

"Let's just go _do_ something," Regulus said, trying to calm everyone down. He never liked it when they fought, or even argued. "There's chess, exploding snap, gobstones-"

 _"Are you kidding?" Bellatrix groaned. "We've done that a billion_ times already!"

"Well, when are they coming home?" Regulus asked.

"At 6:45," Narcissa said promptly.

Bellatrix's frown widened into a huge smirk, and Sirius instantly sat up and faced her. When Bellatrix smirked like that, her friends laughed and her enemies trembled. And she was his closest cousin, he had more bragging rights than anyone (Well, outside of school, that was.) "Who wants to have a little bit of fun?" she smiled, and it was the scariest smile Sirius had seen from her in a long time. It only made him whoop and grin.

"Absolutely. What d'you have in mind, Bella?" He felt the last of the boredom lifting when he saw the smallest of smiles stretch into her eyes, as always whenever he called her by the nickname, though he knew she would never admit it.

"Hang on. Andy, are you in?" she raised an eyebrow expectantly. Andromeda lowered the book and mirrored her younger sister's expression. "It's going to be lots of fun," she wheedled. "And we really do need you there. Since, technically, you count as an adult..."

Sirius could see the wheels in his cousin's head turing. Bellatrix had been right; they'd exhausted everything that they could possibly do in that house; they'd been there since 8:30 that morning, and it was already going into 1:00. Even Andromeda had to be getting bored, right? "Andy," he implored, giving her the widest, innocent-eyed look he could, "Please? We won't give you a hard time if you come with." Of course, this meant that if she didn't let them go, there would be plenty to pay later. Seeing this, Bellatrix let out a gleeful laugh and looped her arm through Sirius's. He grinned at her.

"Fine," Andromeda sighed, and set the book down. "Nothing illegal," she warned.

"Does that mean that we're coming too?" Narcissa asked, and Bellatrix and Sirius traded looks. But Sirius saw Regulus looking hopefully at him, and his resistance crumbled.

"Yes," he finally said, only partly reluctant. "Both of you are coming with; all of us are going." He glanced at Bellatrix for approval and was rewarded with a slight nod.

Bellatrix smirked. "Grab the Floo powder, Cissy. We're going to Knockturn Alley."

* * *

~Bellatrix~

"Well, what do you think?" she waved a hand at the shop. It was called Ink Blots - not the most creative - and did something that no other shop she'd ever been to did. She grinned at Narcissa's horrified look and Regulus's dubious one before turning to Sirius and Andromeda, who's opinions actually mattered. Andromeda was looking at Bellatrix in a cross of amusement and disbelief, and Sirius just looked like he'd gotten free candy. There. That was what she was looking for. "C'mon," she urged, and started in. Andromeda quickly grabbed her arm.

"What did we talk about?" she asked sternly, and Bellatrix rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue but waited until perfect, prissy Narcissa recited the rules back to their sister.

"No one leaves a certain spot without clearing it with you. No one talks to anyone who we don't know. No one uses any magic unless they are in danger," Narcissa said, and beamed at Regulus, who grinned at her. Bellatrix resisted scoffing. Her older sister was no doubt a rule-stickler, but she was alright, if a bit dull. Sirius was the best of them all; he was hilarious and cunning and knew how the world worked. Regulus, her youngest cousin, was alright. Bellatrix hadn't ever seen him happy without Sirius or Narcissa, but who knew what that was all about? Narcissa was a great kid, if she would learn that not everything was trustworthy. But she'd learn eventually, and that was what older sisters were for, anyway.

In any case, she tuned back in to hear Andromeda finally sighing. "Why are we here, Trixie?"

"Isn't it obvious?" she laughed; the place couldn't have been more obvious. "They're called tattoos. A brilliant thing, though I've no idea where they came up with the idea. Permanent ink on skin? Genius." For some reason, Andromeda looked like she was stifling a laugh.

"Yes, well, creativity does blossom when you have the right...inspiration," she said, shaking her head a bit. "But, Trixie, you know that these things don't come off. It's all or nothing with these, but nothing can easily become _later_. People don't just...er, ink prints onto their skin without a second thought," she said, but Bellatrix shrugged this off and grinned at Sirius. Before she could say anything, Narcissa's eyes practically popped out of her head.

"Permanent ink?" she asked, hew jaw dropping. "Trixie, are you mad?"

"Maybe, maybe not," Bellatrix laughed, a high-pitched sound. "I know for a fact that you aren't scared of needles, Cissy." At Andromeda's scolding look and pointed head-tilt towards the two young ones, she scoffed again. "Oh, come _on_ , have a little bit of _fun_! Just think of it like a picture to remind you of what you love, except that you see it all the time." Andromeda sighed and shook her head, but Bellatrix's expression coaxed Sirius into a less vague curiosity and more forward in planning.

"Like a picture on your arm?" Sirius asked.

"Exactly," she nodded. "Like this. Or that." She pointed at a wall, though kept away from the skulls and cooler stuff so Narcissa wouldn't freak out.

"And...would we all do this?" Regulus looked like he wanted to try whatever his older cousins did, and Bellatrix couldn't really blame him. She remembered, slightly, being ten years old and wanting to do anything and everything that Andromeda did.

"Yes," Bellatrix confirmed.

"It's as if someone is drawing on your arm," Andromeda spoke up, "but you can't remove it once it's there." Bellatrix tried not to show so much surprise. She had no idea who Andromeda could have known about tattoos; they were a brand-new thing; not even Diagon Alley had them. Whichever wizard - or witch, she reminded herself with a grin - had come up with them; he (or she) was a genius.

"Will it hurt?" Narcissa asked cautiously, and Bellatrix snorted. If it looked cool, did it really matter?

"Oh, it don' hurt one wee bit, dearie," a heavily accented voice said, and a young witch came up behind Regulus. Bellatrix didn't like the taste of her clothes; too much red and not enough black or green for sure. But she didn't complain. Yet. "Degree in Healing magic, righ' o'er there. I know pain-ceasin' spells like the back of m'e 'and."

"How much for five tattoos?" Andromeda asked in a resigned voice, and Bellatrix cheered up at the fact that her sister was finally understanding the coolness. "Not more than nine galleons each, I imagine?" The red-haired woman tilted her head, exposing the intricate, inked designs on her bare arms and neckline.

"D'pends on w'at y'a dearies want," she said. "But, yes. Loose estimations range between eight galleons and, at most so far, fifteen galleons per."

"Give us a few minutes," Bellatrix said, and the woman smiled - it was a strange smile, one that looked almost happy - before heading off.

* * *

~Bellatrix~

"Well, what do you think?" she asked after a few minutes, displaying plates of example designs, fonts, and the like.

" _Toujours pur_ ," Narcissa and Regulus burst out immediately. Bellatrix heard Sirius cough to cover something distasteful that had slipped out.

"Why?" Andromeda asked, looking both concerned and curious.

"So Mum and Dad won't kill us if we get caught," Regulus said unabashedly, at the same time that Narcissa smiled and said, "Family is the most important thing in the world." There was a brief moment in which the older siblings and cousins thought about the wisdom (or foolishness) that came with these two statements, before Sirius shook his head.

"That is not being stamped onto my arm," he said flatly.

"Alright," Regulus conceded quickly, and grinned at the hair-ruffling that he received. The group of five split up; Sirius and Andromeda, and Bellatrix, Narcissa, and Regulus.

"How about a snake?" Regulus asked excitedly, but Bellatrix yanked his arm down as he pointed. Narcissa glared at Bellatrix and shrugged at a suddenly blushing Regulus, who looked ashamed. "Never mind." Bellatrix spared a glance behind her, but luckily, neither Andromeda nor Sirius had heard. It was an unspoken rule among the Black children that mentions of the Hogwarts Houses, especially the ever-present Gryffindor versus Slytherin feud, was forbidden. And while Regulus hadn't been meaning to mention it, Bellatrix was attempting to avoid another heated argument over Sirius's failure of a House. But, moving on (or attempting to), Narcissa finished whispering to her cousin and gave a smile.

"How about a rose?" she asked, and Bellatrix snorted. "It's pretty," she said defensively.

"Yes, roses are very pretty," Andromeda swooped in out of nowhere to play peace-maker, and Bellatrix rubbed the back of her neck as she scooted up to Sirius.

"This is harder than I thought it would be," she muttered.

"I know," he agreed. "Let's pick something and get it over with. Something cool. Something that would make them-" He cut off for a moment, and his eyes blazed with the hidden fury that Bellatrix always saw when he talked about his parents, "...something that would be super cool," he finally finished, though rather more subdued. Wanting to take his mind off her scolding, terse Uncle Orion and mad, wild Aunt Walburga, she hooked her arm through his in a juvenile way and laughed in her special way.

"Come on, Siri - let's head over there!" She noticed a spark to his eyes when she called him by his nickname, though she knew he would never admit it. "Andy, we're off to the other side of the room," she called out gaily, and received a curt nod. Together, the two cousins pointed out disgusting ones, hilarious ones, and ones that were just plain awesome.

"How about a dragon? With flames," she offered, at the same time he said, "Flames would be wicked, especially with a dragon." The two cousins turned to each other with raised eyebrows and burst out laughing.

* * *

~Sirius~

"We've got it," Sirius announced to his rather small audience. "We have, as a team, come to a decision on what the design of choice is - see?" He held up a small plate with an image of a dragon, wings and tail and everything! "What do you think? And, you can add a little something to make it more- I don't know, you."

Andromeda only folded her arms, not exactly angry, but clearly wondering why she had allowed them to come. Sirius would come to call it "a fond exasperation," and grinned at the young woman. Then he looked to the "troublesome two," (or, "dreadful duo") as he and Bellatrix joked they ought to be called. They didn't do much without the other; they were rather close, as these things went. And he knew that they would decide on a _yes_ or _no_ together. "Cissy, we could make the dragon look nicer," he tried to coax. "We could put a rose or a heart in the middle for yours. And, Reg, we could have-" He took the slightest of breaths in hesitation, "-a snake instead of a dragon, but in the same position." The other four looked at him in surprise, but he met no one's eyes but his brothers, who was looking up at him in awe. "I know you like them."

"I do!" Regulus smiled widely.

"Great! See, there we go," he laughed and winked at Bellatrix.

* * *

~Sirius~

There was a smaller room in the back, and while Andromeda, Narcissa, and Regulus waited outside, Bellatrix and Sirius went in and sat down on the long chairs. The young woman with the cheery expression and red hair was standing beside him, another, equally-pleased looking one by Bellatrix. They both rather reminded him of Madam Hooch from school; pleased and enthusiastic about their job. It was a nice change from the scowling he was so often privy to, anyway. The witch cast a numbing spell over Sirius's shoulder blades, front and back. The witch had told him to relax for the next hour or so, and so he let himself drift to sleep, with Bellatrix lying watch. His dreams were filled with red, orange, and golden flames, fearsome dragons, and his cousin's hysterical, high-pitched, joyous laughter, and Sirius had a smile on his face.

"Oi, you - wake up, sleepy-head," Bellatrix's voice, playful and cheerfully reprimanding, shouted in his ear, and Sirius jolted awake. "Ta-da!" she grinned, and gave him a mirror. There, on his right shoulder blade, was a fierce, coiled dragon with its wings unfurled, inky black and wickedly awesome that stood out against his pale-shaded complexion. It was about five inches long on any side, and the tail curled into a flame, with small red accents on the tips.

"Wicked," he breathed, because the only other adjective that would fit would be awesome, and that's what Regulus would say. The witch smiled at him.

"Glad you think so," she grinned. "Now, I'll say this again later, but, for you, young man, I want you to keep that wrapped for at least three hours. Don't worry if it the skin is a bit red for the first week or so. I'll wrap it right now, but that means no touching, poking, or prodding at the bandage, that area, or the tattoo itself for three hours. When the three hours are up, you can remove the bandage - gently - and take a soft, damp, warm cloth and pat it down to ensure that your skin doesn't become infected or anything. Don't let your back get rubbed by anything until then either, alright? Magic is a wonderful thing, but it can't do everything," the witch laughed. "Same thing for you, young lady," she said to Bellatrix, who nodded and grinned almost giddily at her cousin.

"Can I see?" Sirius asked Bellatrix, and she grinned at him. She pulled off her outer robe, and Sirius found that she'd rolled a shirt - which was strange, because she always wore dresses and robes and such - up above her stomach. A crisply inked black dragon swirled on her stomach and side, a bit bigger than his - and his was already pretty large. Inside, curling from the center of the tail, was a celestial spiral done in purple, black, blue, and accented in silver. "Wow," he breathed, and Bellatrix laughed like his expression was the funniest thing she'd ever seen.

"Isn't it neat? Alright, time to switch out and get Andy, Cissy, and Reg in here," she said cheerfully. Bellatrix and Sirius had to wait for a few more minutes as the tattoos were covered by a white gauze-like material. "Thanks," she tossed over her shoulder, feeling like Andromeda would instinctively know if she hadn't at least said that.

* * *

~Andromeda~

From the minute they stepped into the shop to escorting her troops out to the first part of the building, Andromeda wondered if this was a mistake, though the children seemed find it brilliantly. She'd had to suppress her laughter upon hearing about the "new invention," knowing full-well that muggles had gone through such things many, many times. But Sirius and Bellatrix came out with huge grins, exciting their younger siblings. Ted - wonderful Ted Tonks - had told her about such things, and she couldn't help but wonder what the young man - her young man - would think when she showed him.

Andromeda was interrupted from her musings to be nearly pounced on by thrilled children and smiling witches. Apparently, Bellatrix had had some sort of celestial design, Sirius had his flames, and the younger ones hadn't wanted to be overlooked. Instead of a dragon, Regulus had indeed gone along with the snake, little tongue and everything. Narcissa had a small red rose on her ankle, apparently, and Andromeda had only gone along because of the whole crew had pleaded, begged, and amused her into it all. (Though, admittedly, it seemed like fun - and, hey; they were magic; permanent ink was suddenly not such a problem.) Upon paying while the children eagerly discussed the day, Andromeda leaned over the counter to the tall young woman with the heavy accent.

"You wouldn't happen to be muggle-born?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. The witch looked about to argue, but Andromeda only shrugged. "Just wondering why everything has been sped up; normal tattoos have to wait for weeks before they're all set." There was a pause, and then the witch nodded, just as Andromeda had thought.

"Magic is just speedin' up and numbing the pain," the witch whispered, and Andromeda smiled blandly. "But you're all from some sharp family; I can tell. Y'e ain't going to turn us in-?"

"Don't get caught. It's not every day you get to see a couple of muggle-born sisters doing so well in Knockturn Alley," she laughed softly. Andromeda wished the witch good-luck and collected her cousins and sisters and headed off for the day. As she held the youngest children closer to herself, Andromeda couldn't help but give a glance towards her wrapped arm. A small half-smiled danced across her normally drawn face.

* * *

~Sirius~

"The main rule about today - you can't tell anyone about the tattoos." Bellatrix's voice was very stern and very serious, something so unnatural that she had everyone's attention. "At least until you're eighteen-years-old, you understand me?" She eyed Narcissa and Regulus. "I'm counting on you - Andromeda and Sirius and I - are counting on you two not to tell anyone, do you hear me? Mum and Father and Aunt and Uncle - all of them, really, as I know you know -would _not_ be happy. Am I clear, you two?"

Narcissa and Regulus nodded solemnly, and Bellatrix turned to her cousin and older sister, and received two head-nods, though Andromeda's was bordering on slightly patronizing. "Good." There was another pause, and then a grin appeared on her face. She gave her special laugh; no one else could laugh like Bellatrix Black. "I - we - am and are absolutely bloody brilliant," she gloated.

"Yes, yes, you are," Andromeda said, slightly distracted by her book again. Sirius had his hands behind his head, but he was carefully angled across the sofa, since he couldn't manage to lean against his shoulder blade for a while. He took a scan of the room. Just like earlier that morning, Regulus and Narcissa were sitting on the floor, Andromeda was reading a book and relaxing on a chair, while Bellatrix and Sirius were stretched out on the sofa again. But this time, Regulus was admiring Narcissa's ankle, and she was whispering something in his ear that made them both grin and giggle a bit. There was a rare smile that graced Andromeda's normally mature, serene face, and it made her seem almost...prettier...than her late seventeen-year-old self, which had been looking a mix between strange elation and quiet depression at differing times. But Sirius was barely thirteen; he figured it was just part of growing up, and that everything would be alright soon.

Yes, everything would be alright, he mused, glancing behind his shoulder instinctively. As long as they always stuck together, like they always did, then, everything would be alright.

That's how it always used to be: the five Blacks; friends and family, enjoying life as it came, and managing to find little pockets of gold between shouting parents and impossible standards. For a short but brilliant time, all of them managed to find a moment of juvenile fun and frivolous joy in life, together.

And even, years and decades later, they would always have that black ink, marking them as who they once were - not as traitors, as muggle-lovers, or murderers.

And even, years and decades later, they would always have that black ink, marking them as who they once were - but as children, as family, and friends.

And even, years and decades later, they would always have that black ink, marking them as who they once were and would always be, somewhere deep inside - they were Andy, Bella (or Trixie, of course), Cissy, Siri, and Reg - and they would always find themselves recalling those short moments of the brilliant gold in the black ink.

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 **A/N: It's my one-year anniversary to have an account! Yay me. I'm fairly certain I've gotten the personalities right. It just seems so awfully morbid that Bellatrix and Sirius would have loved each other once. In any case, here's to them! And me, of course. :P :)**

 **A/N: Please vote on my poll!**

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 **Reviews and PMs are appreciated~! :)**


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